THE WHITES IN SOUTH AFRICA
623
grudging compromise if that will allow them to get on with
making money, rather than petrify into the sort of historic
hatred that the Mrikaners feel. On the basic issue of Apartheid
there is disagreement reflected in the conflict of the Nationalist
government and the United Party, the main opposition party
to which most English South Mricans (especially the "non–
political") belong. Yet, although the English South Mricans
do not care to admit this, it
is
not a disagreement on principles
but only on method. It is true that many English speaking South
Africans who are not attached to either of the left parties–
the Progressives or the Liberals--do dislike the inhumanity and
ruthlessness of Apartheid, but not actively enough to make much
protest. They have no alternative method of maintaining race
supremacy to offer and they cannot therefore criticize the Govern–
ment strongly even on methods. What they do not like about
Apartheid is that it demands certain sacrifices from them-un–
popularity abroad, violent reaction on occasion from the colored
races, restrictive regulations which inevitably at times hamper
white activities. They sum up all these disagreeables by com–
plaining that Apartheid is "bad for business." For decades they
have abstained from political activity or bureaucratic labor in
order to make money. So long as the Nationalist rule did not
provoke internal or international difficulties they were content;
but world events have caught up with them and they find it
easiest to blame this on the Afrikaner government. It is above
all the dogmatic, theoretical, intellectual nature of Mrikaner
policy-if the last adjective may be used about such lunatic
racial ideas as are embodied in Apartheid-that the English
South Africans distrust.
The English South Africans are lamentably ignorant of
world events outside South Africa; and in particular are deter–
mined to ignore the Mrican Nationalist revolutions that are
taking place elsewhere on their continent. "You mustn't forget,"
I was told more than once, "that we have six thousand miles
of nothing between us and civilization." And a shrewd business-
